Letters From Our Partners in Mission

Amorphous Innuendo

Thank you for your commitment to priests in need. Since becoming aware of Opus Bono Sacerdotii, I have personally heard several causally spoken references to ‘abuser’ priests. These unsubstantiated stores are appalling, especially because the person relating them is sure they are true. Without any accusation of the priest in question, much less investigation by civil or church authorities, all priests are assumed to be abusers or worse. This is the true crisis of the priesthood; that good and holy men following Our Lord’s example are subjected to such amorphous innuendo. But I am not telling you and your staff anything you don’t already know. The Holy Spirit has opened my eyes to the need to support our priests with prayer and sacrifice, no matter what their circumstance. I have been touched by the stories you relate in your monthly letters, even more touched by the stories of priests who have left the priesthood, or have been accused of crimes, or have simply wavered in their call. As a wife and mother, I too have been brought to the very edge of abandoning my vows, more than once. ‘All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ Only be God’s grace do any of us remain faithful. So, you pray for me and I will pray for all of you at Opus Bono. Never lose heart. Keep the appeal letters and updates coming. God bless you all! Debbie

I Understand Loneliness

I have been deeply moved by the letters Joe Maher of Opus Bono Sacerdotii encloses in his periodic letters requesting help for this endeavor. I am 72 years old and lost my dear husband of 47 years, a year ago. Because of his death, I understand more deeply what loneliness is. But it is still very hard for me to fathom the sense of loneliness, rejection, and injustice your priests must experience on a daily basis. And so, I have decided to write to you so that your priests may realize how much others care for their plight. At least in my loss of my husband, I still have family and friends who support me. But the priests you serve at Opus Bono have been severed from those ties when they were cut off from their public ministry. Hopefully, they still have some family members who believe in them and still show you their love. It grieves me to think that for many of these priests, this may not be the case. I just want them to know that although they think they are alone and abandoned, they are not. Because we are members of the body of Christ, their pain is our pain. I share in their suffering. And I pray for them every day. So, do many others. May God deeply bless them! I pray that they may experience increased hope each day and for tiny glimpses of joy! Lovingly in Christ, Ellen

How Would You Like to be 'Branded'?

I'm involved in prison ministry, it's called Kairos (God's special time). It is modeled after Cursillo. Many years ago, we were doing the first ever Death Row Kairos at the prison. An inmate who was a a meek grand-fatherly type of person said to me, "How would you like to be remembered for the worst thing you ever did in your life?" That hit home to me then, and I thought, wow, how would I like to be 'branded' after all my years of service? After all the charitable works and sacrifices I did, it seems to me they would count for nothing! In our diocese we have several Irish priests who were recruited when they were young to serve here in the USA. Father Sullivan, Father Kelley, Father O'Reilly, and many more. As I was sitting in Mass one day, it occured to me that these men have made heroic sacrifices to be here for me. They left their mothers and fathers, family members and their own home land, many never returning, to minister in a foreign land to strangers. Furthermore, they are never settled in one place. They serve a parish for only a few years at a time before being transfered to another parish. I'm 67 years-old now, and I have seen the faults of a number of priests over the years, but we are all human! God bless you, Tom

I am a Victim of Sexual Abuse

I know of the wonderful work that Opus Bono Sacerdotii does with priests. If it were not for you, more priests would have committed suicide. A priest I have visited in prison is still surprised that in 16 years not one of his brother priests in his diocese or his bishop has ever visited him. I find it shocking and disturbing. Our bishops don’t seem to care about priests in prison, but only about victims. It seems that they don’t want to stand up to ask for forgiveness of the accused priest as well as the victims. That is appalling to me because I am a victim of sexual abuse. However, that does not define who I am. My church taught me to have compassion, to love and forgive. That is why I reached out to you. Because of Opus Bono, these wounded priests know that they are loved regardless of their innocence or guilt. Sincerely, Charlotte

I am Not Surprised

I read with interest your interview about falsely accused priests in the July 15, 2007 edition of the National Catholic Register. Ever since my own false accusation in 1998, I have been concerned about these types of allegations and when the abuse scandal hit in the early 2000s I knew what was going to occur with many of our fine priests. I think I fared a bit better than many of these priests, in that when I was exonerated from a sexual false accusation of a student I taught in the 1985-86 school year, I was offered my former teaching position back, but since I was nearing retirement, I decided to retire instead. You mention in your [2007] interview that you have helped over 2,000 priests and I am not surprised. A few months ago, an elderly priest I know personally was accused by a deranged female of exposing himself to her in the confessional. Now, he can no longer visit children in the classrooms of our Catholic school, or use the confessional box ot perform the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is unbelievable how this archdiocese, and others, do not support them. (My own school district did not support me either, so I should not be surprised.) In any event, anything I can do to help your organization do not hesitate to le me know. Sincerely, Mike